Will Tasker

Thor is about as pleasant to read as a descended hernia is to experience. But I liked your other two sentences!

Zero interest in the film, but I remain interested to see their choice in actor because I could use a laugh.

Because if he didn't put it on there, people would complain about wanting it, just like the first half of KOTCS Jungle Chase!

He was asked to put that in there and, quite frankly, continues to grate on me every time I listen to the album. A *lot* of people like it though; some people like the fact that the Imperial March theme is "completed".

For the love of God, I hope people here got the Final Symphony album that came out this spring. I think its ITunes and Amazon MP3 only(?), but its the LSO and its one of the best performances I've heard them give in 30 years. http://www.amazon.com/Final-Symphony-Music-From-Fantasy/dp/B00TYMD07K

Agreed on both counts. But as an addendum, I'd like to add that no matter how pedestrian The Book Thief would seem in Johnny's long list of music, its still far and away better than the overwhelming majority of other composers and songwriters.

Ugh. These posts make residence here very difficult at the moment. Just take a moment to listen to yourself, get some perspective in life. Yikes! But no, it doesn't. Unless you're a massive anal retentive prone to anxiety attacks over absolutely nothing. Oh thank God. I was keeping quiet this whole time but thinking the same thing.

I say this without a hint of irony: Spacecamp is likely my favorite Williams score.

I actually really like the character *before* the reveal. Once you know he's not Harrison, its like "Why even bother"?

And of that, its been confirmed 21 minutes of it is nothing but lens flares

This is my hope as well.

For whatever reason, the Target versions had a sticker on the front saying something about the exclusive bonus track. When I went to Target, none of the albums had it for whatever reason. It wasn't until about 2010 that I was rummaging through a used music bin and found the album with the sticker for about $4.

This is my thinking as well. At this point, I'm just thankful there doesn't seem to be another "exclusive track" release ala Attack Of The Clones Conveyor Belt nonsense. It took me years to track down a proper copy.

Brother, do I envy you. Unfortunately, I have thin skin and thick words about things. Its like the old George Carlin quote: "I don't have pet peeves, I have major psychotic f*cking hatreds!"

I have zero issue with collaboration or someone adding to the Star Wars musical universe. I really enjoy Kevin Kiner's output, for example. Ditto Joel McNeely's one entry into the lexicon. Abrams, however, has a long list of, shall we call it, self-satisfaction. I'm sure everyone here remembers the story about how Gene Roddenberry screwed composer (and later Williams arranger) Alexander Courage out of a lifetime of royalties with a handshake deal on the theme to Star Trek. This seems pretty much the same thing, if only done nicely. John Williams has more money than I will ever see in my life time and won't be crying poverty and all is right in that part of the world - but the fact that Abrams always has to stick his hand in someone else's pocket on every project just shows what a little shit he is. It would be one thing if he wrote source music as a laugh and put it in the film - but he knows he'll be making money on a Star Wars album until his dying day, and its not for the love of music but probably for the love of his own ego. Is there any other director in the world whos gotten more attention for creating absolutely nothing original?

You ain't helping things!

Well, its nice to see JJ's rampant narcissism is intact. He's been pulling the "Gene Roddenberry" act with music for as long as he's been a show runner. One wonders how much cash he pocketed for that *single chord* over every episode of Lost.

I wish I could corroborate this better than an old memory - but I specifically remember a radio interview with John on NPR before The Phantom Menace came out. In it, he mentioned how Lucas had (what would be) Duel Of The Fates as an overarching theme used between all the prequel films and how it was going to be used. (Basically, I got the feeling it would be used ala Episode III's Yoda / Palpatine duel or some other major battle scene). To me, that means that "Darth Maul's Theme" is more of an instrumental version / motif for the Sith and not so much for the character exactly.

While some people bemoan Williams's "simplified" musical approach as years went on - I can't tell you how many people I know who enjoy his work bemoan the ostinato-driven material of his more recent years - I always found it more interesting since it often functioned like Bernard Herrmann's concept of "cells" in music. One idea, played over and over obsessively - but then worked into Williams's own creative pattern. I'm not a musical person and struggle to even play chopsticks on the piano, but Williams was definitely changing his musical grammar to something that I'd say was more "primal" than "simplistic". The nervousness of the DotF ostinato threads in and out of the score as a reminder, sort of like a percolating idea just under the surface - which again reminds me of Herrmann's approach to music (within the Hitchcock vein and not the Welles) where agitation of the audience is key to what is going on psychologically. Great write-up in any case.

Be sure to ask Joseph Williams first.

A dumb question I need an answer on: do we have a firm confirmation that the release is only one disc?

I never got around to Carnivale (wanted to, most of my friends who loved Twin Peaks recommended it) but I am the lone person who just didn't care for Breaking Bad. Theres nothing wrong with it - I watched three seasons worth - but it just wasn't for "me"? And I dunno - Deadwood has some of the best acting I've ever seen on television, especially such a beautifully against-type role for Brad Dourif. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMAl2fCYgCQ

I think both AOTC and KOTCS are very fine film scores with their own merits. They're both the product of a composer very much in control of his own art and I find a lot to enjoy in both of them. The problem with fans is of course the natural attitude to compare them to what preceded them in terms of legacy. Maybe both scores aren't on the same peak level of TESB, Raiders or Temple of Doom, but there is a lot to appreciate. I owe you a beer for this post.

The two greatest shows ever made for television are Deadwood and Band Of Brothers!

A very good list. I'm big on Wolf Totem and Obsession is just a given.